It's not over yet!

The hot dry spell we have just had has put paid to many of the our wildflowers, espcually the more showy plants. Heading east out of town on Monday to start the Mid-Spring Bird Surveys, the much improved L. Bray's Rd took me through the Hard Hills to the eponymous Nature Conservation Reserve(NCR) where the Club has two fenced enclosures. The oldest one, established in 1984 to protect the vulnerable Inland Pomaderris (Pomaderris paniculosa ssp. paniculosa) and Daddy Longlegs Orchid(Caladenia filamentosa) demonstrates the importance of controling grazing and browing animals. Outside the enclosure, there is little but mature Blue Mallee (Eucalyptus polybractea) whilst inside the fence, the entire shrub and ground layer of plants is present and flourishing. A few years ago, a count by Club members returned more than 400 plants of C. filamentosa! The newer enclosure was established to protect the newly named Hard Hills Spider orchid (Caladenia ampla) as well as Bristly Greenhood and Inland Pomaderris. However, most of these plants have finished flowering for the year but there is still much to interest keen photographers and naturalists. After climbing through the fence,a scramble through the regenerating Blue Mallee showed big beautiful plants of Scarlet Mintbush- Prostanthera aspalathoides, in every shade of red and orange. These plants despite their turpentiny smell seem attractive to browsing animals and are often browsed low to the ground.

withered rosettes of Bristly Greenhood with spikes soon to flower:

tall stems of Milkmaids(Burchardia umbellata),

drooping bee-infested heads of the mauve Totem Poles(Melaleuca decussata)

still flowering,the coconut-ice flowers of Grevillea alpina- Cat's Claw Grevillea... and meat an

the last flowers of the heath- myrtle,Micromyrtus ciliatus, turning red now:

seed capsules forming on the Hopbushes (Dodonea sp) with attendant beetles

And as a treat the delicate flowers of a Wallaby Grass (Rhytidosperma sp)

So get your boots on, and get out in the bush- the sights are no less impressive than the big Spring wildflower display, just rather more subtle.

Wax Garden is looking Beautiful

Despite the lack of rain for the last 7 weeks, the Wax Garden is looking beautiful. A walk with members from Avon Plains Banyena Landcare Group on Sunday 13th October started with disappointment at the front gate where the vegetation could only be described as Macbeth's "blasted heath"! Taking the Mallee Track though, we were soon amazed and thrilled at the diversity of the flowering shrubs and herbs. Blue Dampiera (D.dysantha)

was threading its way everwhere through the flowering Goldfields Grevilleas ( G. dryophylla),

Silky Tea-tree(Leptospermum mysrsinoides),

soon-to flower Daphne Heath (Brachyloma daphnoides),

Common Fringe-myrtle(Calytrix tetragona)

and fading Rosy Baeckea,

Many other plants were flowering- Twining Fringe-lilies (Thysanotus patersonii)

various peas and daisies and then we came to the patches of the yellow Sun-orchids- Rabbit's Ears. Like rabbits too they were everywhere and flourishing.

Round the corner and heading for the outside track we found, flowering, several plants of the Fairy or Bendigo Waxflower (Philotheca verrucosus), regenerating now since the new fence was installed 2years ago

Other plants present in good numbers were Yam Daisy (Microseris lanceolata) attracting early hoverflies

Twiggy Guinea -flower(Hibbertia exutiaces) with its outstanding honey scent

the tall stately spires of the Cypress Daisy-bush (Olearia teretifolia)

emerging spikes of the Tall Chocolate Lily(Arthropodium strictum)

the shy, low growing herb White Marianth (Rytidospermum procumbens) re-emerging since the fence went up

and the hot magenta flowers of Pink Bells(Tetratheca ciliata)

Each section of the 3 tracks has something different to offer and flowering plants and shrubs are seen from August through to the show of Tall Lobelias, Trigger-plants and native grasses in December. The patch supports the Box-Ironbark eucalypt species Red Box, Yellow Gum, Grey Box, Red Ironbark and Red Stringybark as well as the mallee species Blue Mallee. The rich and diverse understorey represents the best of both ecological vegetation types. The new grazing control fence has proved its worth and will offer protection to this unusual 6.84 ha patch of bush into the future.

Midsummer Joys

The bush is looking pretty dry and desolate now- no rain and a month of extreme heat has knocked all the freshness out of the plants and trees.

Birds are congregating in the lower parts of the landscape- around the creeklines and in gardens where there is water and some respite from the excessive temperatures.

On a recent visit to Dalyenong Nature Conservation Reserve, a large area of Heathy Dry Woodland, to carry out a quarterly bird survey, I was heartened to see Bulokes festooned with the "dayglo" red flowers of Buloke Mistletoe- Amyema linophylla, an obligate on Buloke and thus a threatened species along with the Buloke- and the gorgeous firecracker flowers of the Harlequin Mistletoe- Lisiana exocarpi.

Buloke Mistletoe

Harlequin Mistletoe flowers

I was not the only person interested in the flowering mistletoe; birds of every sort (well, nearly) were attracted to the plants - Honeyeaters, White-plumed, Black-chinned and Yellow-tufted; Rufous Whistlers, Hooded Robin and Dusky Woodswallows were all enthusiastically searching through the mistletoe clumps or hovering over them (maybe that should be "hoovering" as there were lots of insects there too).

On the sector of the survey site where there were no Bulokes, there were no birds!

In the Box-Ironbark areas the mistletoes are Drooping or Box Mistletoe- Amyema miquelii and Fleshy Mistletoe- A. miraculosa- miraculous because it parasitises another mistletoe rather than the tree.

These two species are also flowering at the moment but are much less spectacular than the Buloke and Harlequin varieties.

Mistletoe is a vital bird and insect food especially during summer, providing nectar, berries and cool roosting places during the heat of the day.

The leaves contain more moisture and nutrients than the host plants and when they fall, return those extra nutrients to the soil thus benefitting the host.

I was not the only person interested in the flowering mistletoe; birds of every sort (well, nearly) were attracted to the plants - Honeyeaters, White-plumed, Black-chinned and Yellow-tufted; Rufous Whistlers, Hooded Robin and Dusky Woodswallows were all enthusiastically searching through the mistletoe clumps or hovering over them (maybe that should be "hoovering" as there were lots of insects there too).

On the sector of the survey site where there were no Bulokes, there were no birds!In the Box-Ironbark areas the mistletoes are Drooping or Box Mistletoe- Amyema miquelii and Fleshy Mistletoe- A. miraculosa- miraculous because it parasitises another mistletoe rather than the tree.

These two species are also flowering at the moment but are much less spectacular than the Buloke and Harlequin varieties.Mistletoe is a vital bird and insect food especially during summer, providing nectar, berries and cool roosting places during the heat of the day.

The leaves contain more moisture and nutrients than the host plants and when they fall, return those extra nutrients to the soil thus benefitting the host.